


Trapped In A Lie

by shadowed_sunsets



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: AU, Angst, Drama, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-05-06
Updated: 2010-05-06
Packaged: 2017-10-09 08:26:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/85071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowed_sunsets/pseuds/shadowed_sunsets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU after S3. After having his identity stripped from him by scientists who captured him on a faraway planet with little to no hope for a rescue, the Doctor manages to free himself and escape to the Tardis. But now that his link with the Tardis wasn't what it used to be, and he's having to rediscover what it means to be the Doctor, and the last of the Time Lords, as he goes... the Tardis takes him to the one person who just might to be able to help him... a person who's had his own memories messed with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

After the Year That Never Was and after he dropped Martha back home, the Doctor had returned to Cardiff with Jack. He had, of course, offered the option of traveling in the Tardis to his friend, but they both knew he didn’t really mean it. After that horrible year, it would be awhile before he could travel with someone again. Donna had told him that he needed someone, which he’d admit was true. But, it had been all his fault for all that both Jack, and Martha’s family had been through. If she had never traveled with him....

And Jack. Poor Jack, who’d been abandoned on the Game Station for no real good reason at all. And then they’d only found each other because Jack had been searching for him for so long.

He’d abandoned his friend. As if Jack hadn’t meant anything to him, just a worthless stray. And then he had practically avoided the other man.

There was so much he needed to make up to Jack for. But, this wasn’t the time. Jack deserved many things from him, and the Doctor silently promised himself he would soon.

Right now, however, what he needed to do was to throw himself back into his old life. Traveling the universe, and helping people. That was who he was, the Doctor who helped people. He just needed to remind himself of that.

And so, he began traveling again. Visiting planets and helping where he could, or just simply enjoying the sights without having to do any running. He was tired of running for awhile.

The Tardis seemed to agree with him, since she took him to many restful places. He’d decided that in order to make it up to her for that horrible year, at least in part, he would let her choose where they went. And, maybe in the same vein, every time he left the Tardis, he could hear her singing in his mind, already eager for his return and companionship. Their separation caused by the Year had scarred them both, leaving them more reliant on each other once they were reunited.

So, each time he landed, he tried not to be gone for too long, or sent her reassurances that he was fine and safe.

That had been his plan when the Tardis landed him on Aarenthia. To go in, do whatever was needed of him, and then come back to her so they could move on, onto another adventure.

They had landed in an old, unused cupboard on a planet called Aarenthia, where neither of them had been before.

He’d stepped out of the Tardis into the small cramped space between the open doorway of the Tardis, and the locked doors of the closet. It took him only a second with the sonic screwdriver to unlock the supposedly locked doors; and then he was off, locking the Tardis behind him, and giving her one last, final farewell.

Neither of them knew it would be the last time they’d be near each other in the long months to come.

Outside the cupboard, the Doctor found himself in an empty basement that was mostly open space. The walls were made of stone, and the floor of concrete, just like the pillars holding up the ceiling. The only things in the room other than him were the cupboards lining the entire wall behind him. All identical to the one where he’d apparently landed the Tardis.

He managed to make his way through the damp, shadowy space to the far wall where there was a door that, once he soniced it open, led into a dark corridor. The Doctor was all fit to explore, but opposite the door was a lift that’d hopefully send him to the upper levels of whatever building this was.

The lift seemed to work relatively well, and soon he was on his way upwards with fairly little sonicing involved.

He’d pressed the button for the fourth level, but before the lift could make it that far, the lift ground to a halt. As the doors opened, a pleasant mechanical voice informed him that this was the third level and not the fourth like he wanted.

The Doctor slid the sonic out of his pocket, and attempted to sonic the doors. But, before he could get very far, a man stepped into the lift, pushing a cart. This new person didn’t raise his head as he came in; he just pushed in the cart and leaned over to press the button for the fifth level.

The Doctor slid his hands back into his pockets, rocking back onto his heels as he waited for the lift to start moving again.

“Who’re you then? Haven’t seen you round here before,” a sharp, almost nasal voice said, breaking the silence in the lift.

The Doctor turned, getting his first real glimpse of the other man.

He looked like almost any other maintenance worker on any other planet. He even had the whole, one-colored, all-body ugly uniform that most of these people wore. It was just that this, olive green color, was worst than most.

“Hello there,” the Doctor greeted him, and then tilted his head a little in order to read the man’s nametag. “Frank.” He pulled the psychic paper out of his pocket, and raised it to flash it quickly at the other man. “I’m Dave, maintenance as well.”

The man, Frank, glared suspiciously at him. “Never seen you before…”

“Ah, well,” the Doctor replied quickly, and then fished for a believable reason. “I just started last week, haven’t met a lot of people yet,” he admitted, running his hand through his hair in his best sheepish act.

Frank seemed to buy it, since he simply nodded and then resumed his staring contest with the ground again.

Luckily, before they were forced to make any more small talk, other than the psychic paper, the lift suddenly dinged. A mechanical voice then informed them that this was the fourth level as the doors opened to reveal… a long white corridor.

“Well, this is my stop,” The Doctor announced cheerfully as he stepped out into the hall. “It was nice to meet you Frank!” He called to the other man, waving as the doors closed.

Once the lift had continued upwards, the Doctor turned to look up and down the hallway. It was mostly deserted, but there were several important looking doors with important looking numbered locks on them.

Intrigued, the Doctor moved towards the closest door, and, after checking no one was nearby, pulled out his handy sonic-screwdriver.

He had almost gotten the door unlocked, when a sharp voice spoke up from just behind him. “Excuse me, but just what do you think you’re doing?”

The Doctor whirled around, tucking the sonic away in his pocket as he made sure his psychic paper was at the ready.

“I’m…I’m Doctor John Smith,” he introduced himself, flashing the psychic paper at the woman who was standing behind him.

She glared suspiciously at him, peering over her silver, horn-rimmed glasses. “You’re a doctor? Then, where’s your lab coat, and your ID?”

“I just showed you my ID, and I don’t really believe in the whole, “all doctors wear lab coats” trend. It’s a bit ridiculous, don’t you think? I mean, is there really any need for them? They don’t really serve any purpose.” The Doctor flashed a smile at her and leaned in towards her. “Be a little adventurous, eh?”

The woman sighed, but at least she stopped glaring at him. “The lab coats are irrelevant.” She waved her hand. “Show me your ID again.”

The Doctor pulled out the psychic paper and showed it to her again, this time for several seconds longer. “See? Doctor John Smith, says it right there.”

Once she saw his supposed ID again, the woman appeared to relax, and accept his ID. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be suspicious of you. Things are just slightly hectic in this facility at the moment. Something went very wrong with one of our patients, and no matter what any of us scientists try, nothing changes.”

“I was wondering why there was no one around. Bit odd for a medical facility, you know,” The Doctor commented, putting the paper back into his pocket.

The woman nodded, looking harried. “Yes, it is. But, everyone is gathered together in the lab at the moment, overseeing all the equipment and tests.” She looked eagerly at him. “Would you come and help us, please? I’m sure we’d benefit from your expertise.”

He blinked at her. This would be a good in for seeing how things worked around here. And, she didn’t seem to suspect him, whoever this woman was. “And, who just might you be?”

The woman started. “Hmm? Oh, I apologize.” She extended her hand to him. “I’m Loreen, Doctor Loreen Srenstell. And don’t you dare forget the Doctor part.”

“Only if you do the same for me,” The Doctor replied, mostly teasing, as he shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“And you as well,” the woman, Loreen, replied. She then took back her hand, and turned around in the direction she’d come most likely. “Follow me, then.”

Doctor Loreen then began walking back down the hallway, striding quickly with her heels clacking on the tiles.

“Right, lead on then,” the Doctor invited, following her cheerfully with his hands in his pockets.

It was a fairly long walk, with several left turns and right turns, and many doors that looked exactly the same to him. Mostly, anyway. But Loreen just continued on.

Finally, they came to a door that looked different than all the others. A door with fancy double doors and a key pad to the side of it, with an ID reader. There was also a plate next to it that said, ‘Medical Lab’ on it.

“Here we are then,” Loreen announced, turning towards the door and walking forward until she was just in front of it. Then, as if she’d done this a million times, the woman unhooked the badge from her pocket and raised it up to run it through the machine.

A few seconds later, the machine beeped and a light flashed green. The doors then opened, each parting to one side, to reveal a rather large room full of blinking machinery and people dressed in lab coats rushing around.

“Follow me,” Loreen instructed him, going inside before he could respond. As soon as she’d gone a few steps, a lackey ran up to her and began chattering away.

“Love the door,” the Doctor commented as he walked in after her. “Very dramatic. Nice touch.”

But, unlike with the woman, no one heard him or paid any attention to him as he stood near the door, looking around.

After a few minutes of being ignored, and studying the banks of machines around the room, the Doctor slipped on his glasses and moved towards one of the more important looking machines.

But, before he was halfway across the room, a voice he didn’t recognize called, “Doctor!”

It might not even have been directed towards him, but out of force of habit, he stopped and turned.

Then, before he could react, suddenly there was a flickering funnel of blue around him, trapping him in place.

“What? What’re you doing?” the Doctor protested irritably. He had a feeling he knew what had happened, but still didn’t really want to believe it. He reached out a finger to cautiously poke the wall of light, then flinched when it sparked at him just like the Tardis often did. “Holding device, just like I thought. I’ve had more than enough of these things. I always seem to get locked in them.”

The Doctor frowned, staring around him. Maybe it’d just been a mistake, as unlikely as that was. “Oi! Will someone let me out? I got trapped in this thing somehow and…”

He trailed off when no one still seemed to be taking any notice of him. Even after he’d yelled to them.

So, the Doctor began rifling through his pockets, searching for his sonic screwdriver. But, for some reason, no matter how far down he reached, there was no sign of his favorite tool.

Just as he was about to give up, the woman from earlier spoke up close behind him. “I don’t suppose you’re looking for this, are you, Doctor?”

The Doctor spun around to look at her, and his eyes landed quickly on the thin metal cylinder she was holding up in her hand. “That’s my sonic! How’d you get my sonic screwdriver? I could’ve sworn it was in my pocket all this time!” he blurted worriedly, looking suspiciously at her.

But instead of answering, the woman just smiled at him. And as he watched, she slowly lowered her hand and slid the sonic screwdriver into her pocket. Then, just to mock him further, she tapped it with her hand.

“I’ll be keeping this safe for you, Doctor. For now,” Loreen said coldly.

The Doctor stared at her. “What do you mean keep it safe for me? I thought you brought me here to help you!”

“That was just an excuse to get you in here so I could trap you like this. It was fairly obvious you were an intruder from the moment I saw you, but I couldn’t have just trapped you out in the hall.” She shook her head at the thought. “So, instead I led you in here. This is a much more satisfactory place.”

The Doctor laughed. “Well, of course. It’s much nicer being trapped in here than out in the hall. First of all, there’s a lot more people to talk to, and, it’s a little roomier, isn’t it?”

The woman gave him a look that said she clearly thought he was mad. But then, she shrugged and raised a device she’d apparently been holding this entire time.

“Now, let’s see just exactly who you are. Shall we?” She asked him with fake cheer, and then pressed one of the larger buttons down. “Commence scan.”

For a moment there was a dramatic pause, and then a low hum began sounding from above the Doctor’s head. He looked up to see that a thin circle had appeared amongst the blue above him, and as he watched, it began moving down towards him.

“What’re you doing?” the Doctor asked her worriedly, keeping a watchful eye on the circle.

The woman sighed. “Relax, Doctor. It’s just a scan.”

He rolled his eyes at her, but did his best not to fidget as the circle slowly came down inch by inch as it scanned him. When it came to a stop at his feet, he relaxed, sure it was finished now. But then it began moving upwards again at the same painstakingly slow pace.

When it was finally done minutes later, he glared at her, crossing his arms. “Well, did you find out what you wanted? Was it worth me stuck just standing here?”

The woman shook her head, but didn’t seem to be agreeing or disagreeing with him. She was focused on her scanning device again, staring down at the screen.

Nothing happened for a few long seconds, until the device beeped again. As she read the results, her eyes widened and she let out a sharp breath. “Time Lord,” Loreen whispered.

The Doctor sighed. “Yes, Time Lord. That’s me. Now, I don’t suppose we could move on, could we? Such as you letting me out of this thing, for example?”

Loreen shook her head. “Oh, no, Doctor. That won’t do at all.” Her eyes gleamed. “Now that I’ve got you, there’s no way I’m letting you go.”

“I hate to ruin the moment for you, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that line before,” the Doctor told her with just a slight smirk. “And every time I’ve escaped.” He frowned. “Well, nearly every time. And usually I had my sonic with me, or a companion.” He grinned brightly at her. “But I’m sure I’ll still find a way to escape.”

Loreen blinked at him. “Although that might be true, Doctor, you’ll find that I have several tricks up my sleeve, as they say. You’ll find that this time, it won’t be so easy for you to escape.” As she began bragging about how crafty she was, the woman began pressing different sequences of buttons into the device she was holding. In response, the cell holding the Doctor made several disconcerting noises before suddenly a thick gas began leaking into the cell from somewhere.

The Doctor easily held his breath, but Loreen just smirked. “You can hold your breath for as long as you like, Doctor. But this gas is unique, made especially by this company. It won’t dissolve until it’s breathed in.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “I suggest that it would be better for you to give in now, than to faint. It’s rather an undignified way to be captured, I’m afraid. But it does get the job done. So I would recommend breathing if I were you.”

The Doctor rolled his eyes, and then shook his head. “If you think you’re-“ He blinked. “Oh,” he said weakly, not getting a chance to finish as he fell unconscious, collapsing to the floor.

Loreen waited for several seconds to make sure that he wasn’t simply tricking her. But when the limp form didn’t move at all, she pressed a button on her device to deactivate the holding cell.

“Mike! Dean! Get over here now!” Loreen ordered sharply. As she waited, she walked up to the Doctor and cautiously nudged his side with her foot. When he didn’t react at all, a cold, cruel smile formed on her face.

“Ma’am!”

She turned to see two men still in their lab coats standing at her side. “Take him to the main lab. Change him into scrubs, and confiscate his clothes as well as anything you find in the pockets. Then put him on the table and tell Charlie to start him with the first solution we prepared earlier. She’ll know what that means.”

Loreen turned a sharp eye on her lackeys. “Have you two got all that?”

“Yes, Ma’am!” They replied, saluting.

“Good, then get going already!” Loreen told them irritably, not wanting to waste any time now that she’d captured such a unique specimen.

The two men moved towards the Doctor, then stopped with one at his head and the other at his feet. One lifted him by the ankles, and the other his arms, to awkwardly lift the limp form and carry him out of the room between them.

Loreen turned, slipping the device into her pocket. “Now the fun can begin,” she said to herself, the cold smile finding its way back. “An experiment that could change the course of the future, done on a Time Lord no less. And all for me. All the credit will go to me.”


	2. prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a recent plot bunny that bit me, and then just refused to let go. I'm afraid that we're all in for a long ride, (there's lots more to come) with lots of angst... but also eventual Ten, Rose, Jack fun. With just a few surprises thrown in!
> 
> I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> (This prologue is fairly short, regular chapters will be longer!)

On a planet far away, in one of the darker corners of the universe, a thin man dressed in a poor imitation of hospital scrubs slowly regained consciousness.

As his eyes opened, the unfocused brown orbs weakly studying the stark white ceiling, something on the equipment surrounding all four walls of the entire small room beeped, causing the scientist to turn around.

“Johnny, are you awake?”

At the sound of her inquiring voice, the man cautiously turned his head towards her. A few seconds later, when his eyes focused on her cold blue ones, and her warm smile, his gaunt face transformed into a weak shadow of a smile of his own.

“Yep, seems like it,” he answered in a voice that was barely more than a whisper. His gaze drifted distractedly down and off to the side, but he didn’t seem to notice at all the metal bands clipped tightly around his wrists, the IV line in his arm, or the thing clamped around his index finger.

The female scientist walked up to stop at the side of the medical bed he was on, and frowned. “Johnny. Johnny, please come back.” she leaned over him just enough to place a hand lightly on the top of his head, flattening down the wild brown strands of hair. As she touched him lightly, the scientist was careful not to jiggle the metal band wrapped around his head; the metal band linked to his mind that was keeping the last of the Time Lords in such a weak and susceptible state.

At her touch, the man seemed to stir again as his unfocused eyes drifted back to fix on her. “I’m…I’m here.” He squinted up at her. “What…what happened?”

She smiled softly at him. The smile didn’t come close to reaching her eyes, but he didn’t seem to notice. “It’s all right, Johnny. You just went through a rough patch there for a little.” Her voice went quiet, “But you’re back now, and you’re going to be all right.”

The man smiled groggily at her, looking slightly sleepy but happy. “Thanks, I’m glad someone like you has my back. I appreciate it.”

The woman bent over him to place a light kiss on his forehead before straightening again. “Of course, Johnny,” She reassured him, and then laughed softly as he yawned loudly. “Go back to sleep, John. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

“Promise?” he whispered sleepily, eyes already fluttering shut of their own accord.

She nodded. “Promise.”

The scientist watched him carefully as he fell asleep. Then, as soon as the machines said he was unconscious again, the smile vanished, along with the warmth in her blue eyes.

It was amazing how susceptible he was to the treatment they were giving him. How, ever since they’d broken the Time Lord’s link with his ship, it had been even easier to manipulate him and bring him to the state he was currently in. Now that he was completely in their hands, and they could do as they wished with him, the scientist was eager to experiment with just how far they could take him in this state.

The woman checked the machines one last time before she walked out of the room, turning off the lights and locking the doors behind her.

The next time the Time Lord woke and was conscious again, she would try something new; giving him more medicine, and taking him even further. It would be a treat to see just what she could do to him…  
~~~~~

Far below, locked away in an unused, dusty broom cupboard, the last Tardis in the universe sang softly, mourning the loss of her Time Lord.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N1: I apologize profusely for taking so long to update this, I really do. It would have been posted awhile ago, soon after I made the post about updating soon, but.... apparently my villains/evil scientists weren't villainy enough. Instead, they were Disney villainish instead of real villains. Also, she's the one who said I needed more technic-y technobabble.... evil scientist style. So if there's anything you don't understand concerning that... blame her! *runs away to escape Shayna's wrath*
> 
>  
> 
> A/N 1.5: Sorry about the shortness of this chapter, they'll usually be longer than this... but I wanted the events of this chapter to be on their own. The real experimental fun begins next chapter. Which I promise will be out soon.... well, sooner than this chapter anyways.... It's already been sent off to Shayna, and I also have the next twoish parts for this story written.... the plot bunnies have bitten me, and they've bitten me hard apparently....
> 
> A/N2: This is a recent plot bunny that bit me, and then just refused to let go. I'm afraid that we're all in for a long ride, (there's lots more to come) with lots of angst... but also eventual Ten, Rose, Jack fun. With just a few surprises thrown in!
> 
> I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: All belongs to the BBC, sadly enough....

The Doctor abruptly came back to consciousness, to find himself lying in a cold, sterile, room on a metal, table, wearing something that was most definitely not his usual outfit.

He’d never seen this room before, and found that when he tried to sit up, he was strapped down somehow. So, the Doctor settled for the second next best thing instead of trying to escape.

Yelling.

“Oi! Anyone around?” He asked, and then paused when there wasn’t a response. “It’s not nice to tie up your guests, you know! It violates almost every hospitality rule there is!” The Doctor paused again, “Well, lots of them anyways.”

As he was just about to open his mouth for a second round, a door behind him swished open. A few seconds later, there was the sharp sound of heels against what he guessed was the room’s plastic floor.

To his annoyance, whoever it was refused to come into his line of view. Instead, they insisted on remaining quiet and doing things behind the table he was apparently strapped to.

Finally he sighed and said, as if this was a normal conversation for him and he wasn’t strapped to a table, “I can be silent for as long as I need to. I am a champion silence maker. But, it would be nice to have a little two-sided conversation here. I can’t do everything myself, even though I try to.”

“You obviously love the sound of your voice, Doctor.” A familiar voice drawled from nearby before there was the sound of heels again, and the person finally came into his line of view.

Loreen smiled coldly down at him. “But it’d be better for you to let me do most of the talking from now on. Seeing as you won't be able to enjoy the sound of your own voice fairly soon.”

The Doctor’s eyes narrowed. “Is that part of your plan? That is, after knocking me out and strapping me to this very uncomfortable table?”

She just gave him that same smile, but didn’t reply as she turned towards the tray on the counter beside her.

“Feel free to make yourself comfortable then, Doctor,” the woman advised him, once she was facing him again. She held up a small bottle with no label on it, and as he watched, began to lightly shake it.

As he silently tried to loosen whatever was holding him down, the Doctor continued his attempt at baiting her. “I know I’ve said this before, but you don’t seem to have taken it seriously. It’s really important that you work on your threats, because right now they’re not very threatening.”

Loreen shook her head. “It’s not necessary for my threats to be threatening, Doctor, because right now you’re the one strapped down onto a table.”

 “Well, now that you’ve succeeded in capturing me, what exactly are you planning to do with me?” The Doctor asked interestedly.

Once again, Loreen just smiled at him. “If I tell you, Doctor, it would just ruin the fun I have in store for you. But, I will tell you that I, am very excited about what I can find out from you.”

“Isn’t that just brilliant,” the Doctor muttered to himself, lying back down again.

“Oh, most definitely,” She agreed cheerfully. There was a pause for a few moments then, until the woman took a step forward to stand next to his table, still holding the bottle. “Now, I’m sorry to break up this exciting conversation. But, I do believe we’ve had quite enough small talk.” As she spoke, Loreen reached down to pull a small syringe out of the pocket of her lab coat. “So, shall we begin then?”

Without waiting for his response, not that she would have listened, Loreen unscrewed the lid of the bottle. Then she began slowly drawing the liquid from the bottle and into the syringe.

“What exactly is that?” The Doctor asked, but the woman didn’t seem to have heard.

She just leaned over him, and slowly, carefully, pushed the liquid from the syringe and into the IV line he hadn’t previously noticed in his arm.

Once all the liquid was gone, she straightened and turned to place the empty syringe and practically empty bottle back on the counter.

“You should start feeling the effects soon. But don’t worry; this isn’t one of the lethal drugs.” Loreen told him in faux camaraderie. “It will most likely just make you unconscious, and eventually _might_ make you slip into a coma; however... we haven't tested that yet."

The Doctor, who had been watching the liquid slowly moving down the IV towards him, turned to look at her. “What was that?” He asked again, expecting to be ignored, as he was.

“Like I said, Doctor. No need to worry,” She pretended to reassure him, doing something at the counter.

“I should warn you that there’s a high chance your drugs won’t,” before he could finish his warning, the Doctor trailed off to begin blinking rapidly. “Oh. Or, not. This is actually some really strong stuff.”

Loreen turned slightly to smirk at him. “You were saying?”

The Doctor shook his head, trying unsuccessfully to shake off the effects of the drug. “That’s, that’s not fair…”

“Just relax Doctor, don’t try to fight it.” Loreen advised him from over her shoulder.

“I’ll fight it if I…” the Doctor slurred as his eyes slowly fluttered shut.

The last thing he saw was Loreen’s face smirking down at him, as she held an odd metal band in her hands.

Then the Doctor felt the TARDIS brush against his mind, her song full of worry for him.

He tried to reassure her, to tell her everything would be all right. But he was already slipping away, the drug overwhelming his system.

All he had time for was to comfort her briefly, before he finally fell unconscious.

~~~

Once the Doctor had succumbed to the drug she’d given him, Loreen moved to lean over his limp body. After studying him for a few seconds, she fitted the metal band around his head so that it wrapped around his forehead to come to a stop on either side of his head.

She straightened to study her work, and then fiddled a little with the band until she was satisfied.

As Loreen walked around the table the Doctor was on, and began working on one of the computer panels lining the room, she heard the door open behind her.

When she turned around, a middle aged woman was standing just inside the doorway. She was wearing a dress suit just like Loreen, as well as the lab coat, with her dark hair pulled back into a bun.

“Chris, it’s good to see you.” Loreen greeted the other woman as she came into the room.

“Well, as soon as I heard what happened, I had to come see for myself. Plus I wanted to see the how effective the medicine I engineered was.” Chris told her, stopping at the side of the table to peer down at the Doctor. “Is this the specimen you captured?” She looked up at Loreen with a sly smile, “He’s a bit of a looker, isn’t he?”

 When Loreen just gave her a look, Chris cleared her throat and straightened. “Did you start him on anything yet?”

“Just the first drug,” Loreen told her, reassuringly. “And it was very effective. He was unconscious in a little more than a minute, just like you expected.”

Chris made an ‘hmm’-ing noise before she walked over to stop at Loreen’s shoulder.

“If he really is a Time Lord like you said, then have you done any tests using what we know about Time Lord physiology to take into account his norepinephrin levels? Otherwise his heart beat might increase too far… no need to cause tachycardia,” Chris suggested.

Loreen smirked, “He has two hearts. There’s no reason to worry; if one heart goes too fast, the other will compensate,” she typed one last command into the computer, “And no, I haven’t altered it yet. I was waiting until he was undoubtedly out cold to begin that process- his talking was annoying. But right before that happened, there was a spike in activity in his amygdala- so the memory band is working.”

“And you’re still watching him, with the monitor?” Chris asked, leaning over the other woman’s shoulder to study the results Loreen had brought up on the computer screen for her.

After studying the data for a long moment, Chris said enthusiastically, “Well, he looks very promising. Especially with those results from after he went under. I think it’s about the right time to start the second dose, don’t you?”

Loreen nodded her agreement. “Good idea. I’ll get the program running then. The syringe and bottle is on the counter there if you want to do the honors,” the woman offered, indicating the counter with a tilt of her head.

As Loreen began typing rapidly on the keyboard, Chris walked over to the counter to start drawing the liquid from the bottle into the syringe.

Just a few seconds after she had filled the syringe and then placed the bottle back on the counter, the computer Loreen had been typing at beeped loudly.

“Everything ready?” Chris called, turning slightly with the syringe ready in her hand.

Loreen nodded, glancing at the screen one last time. “Everything’s ready. I’ve started the program running, so you can start giving him the second dose now.”

“All right,” Chris agreed, walking up next to the table. She began to push the liquid into the IV line then, just as Loreen had.

Once all the liquid was gone, Chris walked back over to the counter to place the bottle and empty syringe on the counter.

“Any change?” She called slightly impatiently over to Loreen, who was still studying the computer screen.

“Not yet,” the other woman informed her, sounding annoyed, all the while shaking her head. “But it should be any time now.”

A few seconds later, just as Loreen had expected, the part of the brain that she was watching lit up on the screen. It was just as the Doctor began struggling against his restraints on the table behind them.

“It worked! Just like we thought!” Loreen exclaimed eagerly, turning from the screen as Chris moved to the table.

“Keep watching his heart rate, Loreen! You need to keep an eye on that screen!” Chris admonished as she closely watched the Doctor.

“Right, sorry. I’ll, I’ll just watch the screen.” Loreen apologized, frowning, as she turned back to the computer.

On the screen, the electrical activity flickered , and his heart rate continued to jump wildly as he struggled. What was most interesting however was the way the electrical activity in his amygdala spiked and decreased in short increments. She guessed this meant the subject seemed to be panicking in response to something, most likely the drugs she and Chris had given him. For some reason he was still trying to fight against them mentally, despite the fact that he should be unconscious.

“Chris? What is he doing?” Loreen called over her shoulder, watching as the activity seemed to gain a life of its own.

“He’s still struggling. We should give him a sedative if he doesn’t calm down soon. Otherwise we won’t have an opportunity to do anything else.” Chris called, sounding slightly panicked.

Loreen shook her head. “Not yet, let’s see what happens.”

~~~~~

The Doctor slowly rose to awareness out of the blackness the drugs had pulled him down into, to realize that someone was yelling at him very loudly in his head.

He tried to reach back, but it was difficult to concentrate through the fog clouding his mind. So instead he called a weak greeting into the darkness.

A few seconds later, the comfortable, familiar presence of the TARDIS surrounded him. Even in his weak state, he could feel her worry for him. She whispered to him that when he had gone unconscious, she’d lost him for a while. And even now she told him, obviously upset, that she could barely sense him.

As he tried to reassure her, the Doctor tried to reach out to his ship, but found the bond between them much weaker and fainter than it should have been. And even as he was stretching his limits, at the same time he realized that their bond was disappearing by the moment.

Panicking, the Doctor reached out to her, latching onto as much of her as he could reach. A small part of him realized he was being irrational, but at the moment he didn’t want to be alone in his mind. The drugs, and the fog caused by the drugs, were playing tricks on him, making him panic.

The Doctor held tightly onto the TARDIS, even as little by little he felt himself being pulled away from her.

In an effort to distract himself, the Doctor attempted to figure out just how long he had been out. He guessed it hadn’t been very long.

But when he tried, it slipped away from him and out of his reach. When he attempted to focus and remember when he’d fallen unconscious, he found he couldn’t. No matter how hard he tried to concentrate, it just wasn’t there.

The Doctor truly panicked then, and redoubled his efforts to try to hold onto the TARDIS. He seemed to have lost everything else other than her; even his mind wasn’t his own.

The TARDIS held him closely to her, singing soft reassurances to him even as they were being pulled further and further apart.

A few seconds later they could barely sense each other anymore, and the Doctor was scrambling to reach any part of her he could.

Before they were parted for what could be the final time, the TARDIS gently embraced him one last time, soothing his troubled mind.

The Doctor tried to return the feeling, but before he could, they were suddenly roughly torn apart from each other.

The last thing he heard as the darkness swallowed him again, was her song slowly fading away.

~~~

As the subject went motionless on the table once more, his restraints still firmly in place, Loreen and Chris turned to smile triumphantly at each other.

Their tests had worked; the specimen was now completely at the mercy of them, and of their drugs.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Trapped in a Lie (3/?)
> 
> Characters: Ten, Tardis, OC's
> 
> Rating: PG-13 (just to be safe)
> 
> Spoilers: Seasons 1-3 (AU after S3)
> 
> Beta: The extremely nit-picky Shayna who I love very much, and without whom I'm sure my writing would be nowhere near as good as it is. Surprisingly this chapter wasn't as bad as usual, given it's length. I'd like to think that means I'm improving... but.....  Love you chickadee &lt;33
> 
>  
> 
> A/N1: Well, this certainly didn't take as long as I thought it would, which is nice I suppose... But, as I mentioned above, apparently it wasn't as mistake-ridden as usual....
> 
>  
> 
> A/N2: Seeing as I have the next two/three chapters written already, I'll be sending the next one to Shayna.... but I'm afraid I can't guesstimate how soon it'll be up, seeing as life has exploded for her, and the next week or so is final time for me... &gt;&lt; But I promise we'll get it up as soon as we can!
> 
>  
> 
> A/N3: This is a recent plot bunny that bit me, and then just refused to let go. I'm afraid that we're all in for a long ride, (there's lots more to come) with lots of angst... but also eventual Ten, Rose, Jack fun. With just a few surprises thrown in!   
>  I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: All belongs to the BBC, sadly enough....

Following the unexpected success of their first experiment, the two scientists began performing even more tests on their subject.

For most of the time, they kept him drugged and comatose, finding it easier to study the way his brain worked when he didn’t have full use of his faculties. Even when he was under the influence of the drugs they gave him, he still performed amazingly higher than that of a normal person under ordinary circumstances.

Over the months, they experimented to see which medicines had the greater effect on him. At the same time he seemed to become more and more susceptible to their drugs as his health slowly grew weaker.

However, although it would be detrimental to their research if he were to grow so weak to the point where they were no longer able to experiment on him, it was more important to see just of what his mind was truly capable.

Several times during the slow periods in their experiments, the two scientists reduced the amount of drugs they were giving him in order to coax him up from the drug induced state they’d been keeping him in. This wasn’t out of sympathy, but simply to be certain they didn’t overwhelm him to the point of permanently harming him. If that happened, then their experiments, and therefore their results, would be useless.

Also, by freeing him from the drug induced state for a short period of time, they were able to also study how his conscious mind had been affected.

It was these effects that were perhaps the most promising.

The first and second time he had fought them a little, albeit weakly, and still retained few of his more basic memories. He had also acted confused, and they’d had to drug him before much time had passed at all in order to calm him.

They’d learned from those two times however, and when they’d next waken him, they gave him more drugs than before. This time he didn’t seem to retain any of his own memories, drawing instead from the memories they’d been feeding him to replace his own. And because of this, when he regained consciousness, instead of interacting with them as if they were the hostile ones and the enemies like he had before, he treated them as if they were helping him instead. This just continued to prove the success of their experiment, since his attitude towards them originated from the false memories. They had been able to manipulate his mind and feelings to the point where they could make him believe something opposite to his original normal beliefs.

Everything was going perfectly.

~~~~~~~

He really didn’t like waking up.

Of course, it was nice to be freed from the haze induced by the drugs the scientists were giving him to help make him better.

But it still meant that he was usually dazed and in a lot of pain when he woke.

Which wasn’t nice at all.

It helped that Loreen and Chris were always nearby when he drifted back to consciousness. Each time, they were in the same room, ready to help him if he needed it, and to ask how he was.

He appreciated their watchfulness and care for him, but most of the time he was just happy to wander around in his memories.

Being reminded of just why he had come to the hospital wasn’t his favorite thing, but the rest of his memories were nice to relive.

He remembered living in a small house in a small town, helping his parents during the day in the antiques shop they owned, and then reading things out loud or playing music together at night.

Or almost constantly competing with his older sister in practically everything, always vying for their parent’s attention. But even though it’d been a mostly friendly competition, she’d usually been better than him at everything. Except for creating stories and storytelling, those had always been his specialty.

He’d gone to the local school one year later than all the other kids in the area, since he was still needed in the shop. But then, because he was behind all the other students, he’d often gotten picked on when the teacher’s backs were turned.

At least, that was until one day when he was being bullied worse than usual, and another boy he’d seen sitting in the back before, had rescued him.

When they’d gotten far enough away, the boy had stopped and turned to introduce himself as Chris.

After that day, the two of them had quickly become the best of friends. They did everything together, often to the annoyance of everyone around them. They were as thick as thieves.

The two of them had stuck together through grammar school, and then stayed together up to the second year of secondary school.

The sudden death of his mother and sister in a drunk driver accident had been the one thing that had finally driven the two of them apart. It was something neither of them had ever imagined happening.

It had started with an argument which, looking back, had been fairly stupid. They’d stormed off, furious, refusing to see each other’s point of view.

And, although after a while they’d both calmed down, they’d never gotten the chance to make up with each other.

Chris had moved away suddenly without telling him, and had also changed schools, leaving it unlikely that they would ever see each other again.

After the death of his sister and mother, he and his dad had grown apart as well. Until when he graduated from school, the two of them rarely said more than a few words to each other.

He had finished school with the hope of going to the community college in the big city next school year.

That was, until he had gotten sick.

Every doctor his dad had taken him to hadn’t had any idea of what was wrong with him. And in the end, they’d had little money left, and no answers.

Then, just when they’d almost lost hope, a hospital had called them. The scientists there had a special experiment that they thought might be able to help him.

So he had come to this hospital, and met Loreen and Chris who’d agreed to help him. They’d hooked him up to this machine, and started giving him their experimental drugs.

And as far as he knew, although he was asleep most of the time, it was working.

Sometimes in the short time he was awake, he’d hear a kind of singing in his mind, or a voice calling anxiously to him. But he’d always just chalked it up to hallucinations brought on by the experimental drugs.

The first time when he’d heard that odd song, he’d quickly skirted away, confused. And just a few seconds later, it was gone again.

The next time, before he was able to pull away, the odd presence was there, louder than before. It swamped him then suddenly, and all he could hear or feel was a song of relief and joy.

He’d desperately tried to get away, alarmed, but the song just continued to hold onto him tightly. No matter how hard he tried to fight against it.

It was too overwhelming to him after the silence he was used to in his mind. He panicked, but was in too weak of a state at the moment to fight back.

So instead he gave in, letting the song envelop him, being careful not to respond at all. Whoever, or whatever it was, just continued singing happily.

Then, before anything else could happen, he felt the welcome call of the drugs, and he was pulled back under again.

It was a long time before he woke up next. When he did, Loreen and Chris told him they had let so much time pass because he had suddenly gotten horribly sick; and they wanted to make sure he would survive it. Luckily, he had been able to. Although, when he woke up this time, it was to feel even worse than usual.

Maybe that was why, when he heard the song so soon again this time; he wasn’t able to react at all. Before he knew it, the song had enveloped him again. But now, it seemed to be in order to protect him instead of out of joy or relief like the last time.

He struggled in the grip of the song; sure that it was just the mental manifestation of his illness.

But, to his confusion, the song held him tightly, and began whispering to him. In those whispers, he heard a name, one that was supposedly his own.

Doctor.

He didn’t recognize it, and it stirred no memories, so he was left to wonder just what it meant. Doctor who? And doctor of what exactly?

Was he not who he thought he was? And if that was true, just who was he exactly?

Despite his vulnerability, his curiosity got the better of him. So, cautiously, warily, he called out to the source of the song, and asked.

The response he got in return to his question was quick and overwhelming.

First, there was once again that wave of joy and affection he had felt before.

But then, before he was able to begin to understand, another wave was released upon him.

A wave of memories.

The haze usually brought upon by the medicine was pushed aside and forgotten as memory after memory began flooding his mind.

And as these memories were returned to him, his identity was finally returned as well.

He remembered just who he was, and also realized exactly who had been the one to help awaken him to the truth.

So the Doctor reached out to his lovely ship, weak, but now aware once again.

But when he tried to reach out to her, all he met was blackness. He couldn’t get past the haze of drugs that seemed to completely surround him.

No matter how desperately or how hard he tried to call out to her, it wouldn’t work. He could feel her presence in his mind, but he couldn’t respond in any way. When he tried, it didn’t work.

Once they both realized this, the Doctor wasn’t sure he’d ever felt so helpless in his entire life.

It was true that he finally had his identity and his memories back, which he was glad for. But, even if the TARDIS and he had finally reconnected again, all he could do was feel her presence and understand the thoughts and emotions she sent his way.

He couldn’t do anything for her.

As he began panicking, trying to claw his way through the darkness to her, he vaguely heard some loud, insistent sound start coming from somewhere nearby.

But he ignored it, too preoccupied with reaching the TARDIS.

She shushed him, trying to sooth his panic as she held him tightly.

Once he calmed down enough to be able to mostly think straightly once more, he let his gratefulness to her and relief at having found her again show clearly in his mind. He wanted her to know that even though he wasn’t able to connect with her like they’d always been able to; he still cared just as much for her.

She gently reassured him that she understood completely. And then, she asked him when he would be coming back to her, and told him she was worried, wondering about the condition he was in.

He promised her he would soon, casting the promise out into the darkness between them. He’d find his way back to her just as soon as he was able to, without fail.

Although he remembered who he was now, as well as the TARDIS, there was still the problem that many of the memories were slightly vague. As well as the fact that he was trapped in a room, strapped down to a table, and being constantly fed drugs that he had once thought were helping him.

But at the moment, he needed to clear his head from the haze the drugs had put him in. And, he needed to escape.

Neither of which would be easy.

However, before he could begin forming a plan, the beeping that he had vaguely noticed before became louder. Now that he was more awake, the Doctor guessed that the sound was probably coming from whatever machines he was hooked up to, as they reacted to his sudden return to consciousness.

Without meaning to, he found himself flinching at the sound. Then, without knowing it, he was struggling against his restraints.

He only had time to turn his head to the side, frowning in confusion at the odd weight on his forehead, before there was suddenly other movement in the room.

The Doctor heard a yell of alarm, and then the sound of heels moving rapidly past him and towards the machines.

He didn’t dare open his eyes; it was too soon for that, so instead he simply listened to the other sounds in the room.

There was the noise of someone rapidly typing on a keyboard, most likely a computer’s, before the annoying beeping finally stopped.

As he breathed a quiet sigh of relief, another pair of heels entered the room, and this time moved towards the table he was laying on.

“Johnny?” A slightly familiar woman’s voice called from at his side.

Still pretending to be asleep, the Doctor frowned, confused as to who she was talking to. It was a few seconds later that he remembered ‘Johnny’ was the odd name the scientists had taken to calling him by while they performed their experiments on him.

It was in that moment that a plan came to him, one which he immediately put into effect.

Slowly opening his eyes as if he’d just woken up, he squinted slightly to focus on the woman leaning over him, looking worried. It only took a moment for him to recognize her as the one who’d captured him in the first place.

“What happened?” He asked, making sure he sounded sleepy. His voice was groggy enough as it was after so much disuse.

She smiled down at him, lightly resting her hand on his arm. “It was another rough patch, Johnny.” She paused, looking away. “Actually, Chris and I were away when all of a sudden the machines began going crazy. Of course, we came back as soon as we could.”

The Doctor nodded as much as he was able to, before asking curiously, “But, everything’s fine now?”

The woman shrugged, looking uneasy. “We’ll know as soon as Chris finishes with the computer.”

“Finished!” Chris announced from the bank of computers.

She turned towards them, looking confused. “I can’t find any reason for the computers to be acting up like this. Nothing’s wrong with them at all,” her eyes flickered towards the metal band crossing his forehead. “So I suppose it must be the band giving false information.”

Loreen frowned at her friend, and then down at the Doctor. “I suppose we’ll have to take it off then.” She paused, obviously weighing the pros and cons of doing so. But apparently she came to the decision that it would be fine, seeing as he was supposedly still under the influence of their drugs. “Did you deactivate it?” The woman asked first, and then when her friend nodded, she leant down and slowly, carefully, removed the band.

The Doctor slowly let out a sigh of relief. But it was apparently louder than he’d thought because after lightly placing the band on the counter, she turned back to him with a soft smile. “Is that better then? Can we do anything else for you while we recalibrate the band and the computers?”

He frowned, appearing to think about it. “Actually, my wrists are a little sore. Do you think….?”

She was apparently more reluctant to do this, because she actually seemed to struggle with her answer. But finally she said, sounding hesitant, “I suppose. But, I think we’ll do it one at a time. We wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.”

The Doctor tried not to let his disappointment show on his face. “You’re right, how silly of me. Thanks.”

She leaned over him again, and began fiddling with the metal band wrapped around his wrist. After a few moments, and several clicks and clanks of metal, he felt the band finally loosen, and at last at least one of his wrists were free.

He tried to sit up then, and almost managed it until he suddenly felt faint and nearly collapsed again. But Loreen helped him to stay upright, and after a few deep breaths he felt slightly better.

“Is that better now?” She asked, removing her hand from his back.

He nodded, for once not trusting his ability to speak.

The woman seemed to accept his answer, because she lightly patted his shoulder and then seemed to begin moving towards the other woman.

However, before she could get very far, the door to the room whooshed open, and a very distraught looking young man stumbled inside.

The three other occupants of the small room looked up at the intrusion, but said nothing as he stood up and straightened his clothes.

“Doctor Srenstell, Doctor Arrendell, I need the two of you to come with me at once.” When the two scientists exchanged uncertain looks instead of answering him, he added importantly, “The chief wants to see you.”

Loreen and Chris seemed shocked by this news, but soon began walking towards him.

Loreen stopped at the Doctor’s side first, and placed her hand over his still restrained hand. “No need to worry, we’ll be right back. Promise.”

He nodded, making sure to look worried. “All right.”

She gave him one last smile and then walked over to where the young man and Chris stood waiting.

The three of them then stepped outside, and the door whooshed shut behind them as they began walking down the hall.

The Doctor waited, sitting still, until he could no longer hear them.

It was then that he sprung into motion, leaning sideways to fiddle with his still restrained wrist in the way he had seen Loreen do moments before.

If he had his sonic screwdriver, it would have taken much shorter a time. But even without it, it took him a much longer time to completely free himself than it should have.

Once he’d freed himself, the Doctor swung his legs over the side of the table. He then slowly, cautiously, tried to stand.

The first time, his legs almost gave out from under him, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

It took several more tries until he was finally able to limp his way across the room, going hand over hand along the length of the table and then practically throwing himself the rest of the way to the door.

He’d half-expected for the door to have been locked or somehow barred. But instead, he was able to open it with just a touch, so apparently the two scientists had thought he’d been too dazed or confused, or restrained, to be able to get out on his own.

After sticking his head out into the hallway to make sure no one was around, the Doctor stepped outside and began slowly limping his way down the empty hall.

He had to depend on the TARDIS to steer him in the right direction to her, seeing as it had been months since he’d last been outside the room he’d just left, and he didn’t really remember how he had gotten there in the first place.

It took considerable teamwork between the two of them, mostly on the side of the TARDIS, for him to get back to her. As he stumbled down the hallways and then rested in the lift, she leant him the strength to continue, in addition to guiding him.

It seemed forever for him before he was finally standing in front of her for the first time in months.

He stayed there for several long moments, barely able to stand. He was a little hesitant about going inside her again, for however glad he was to be so close to her.

He could have remained in that place for even longer, but she nudged him gently, coaxing him to come inside.

Almost as if in a daze, he took one step closer, and then another.

Once he was just in front of the doors, the Doctor slowly raised his hand and placed it against the warm wood.

As he finally heard her hum again, not in his mind but in real life, for the first time in months, he finally felt free again.

In a burst of energy, the Doctor gently pushed the door open, his hearts racing at the familiar sound of hinges that desperately needed greasing. It was a sound he had missed more than he’d known.

The first step inside was the hardest, but then his feet seemed to gain a mind of their own, and he found himself striding up the ramp to stop beside the console, as if barely any time had passed at all.

Once he was there with her again, the TARDIS reached out to him, enveloping him within her song once more.

He closed his eyes against the sensation, letting her flood his mind, anything to let him get as close to her as he could.

The Doctor wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that. But he was pulled back to reality when she gently nudged him again, whispering to him that they should leave before his escape was noticed.

After a moment he nodded, and moved closer to the console, positioning himself at the controls to start sending them off.

But then, when he reached out to start setting the controls, he found that he couldn’t remember what to do. No matter how hard he tried to remember the sequence, it wasn’t there.

Before he knew what was happening, he was panicking again, only holding himself up by the support of the console.

The TARDIS was there to calm him once more, and slowly, step-by-step, they worked together to send them off again.

They were able to successfully enter the Vortex, but she silently worried about even though he was free and with her again, just how much of himself he’d lost in those months of imprisonment and experimentation.  
﻿


End file.
